This Week's D.C. Deal Sheet
A former office complex in Alexandria is now filling up with apartment renters after its owners completed a conversion project.
The joint venture of Lowe and USAA Real Estate completed the transformation of Park + Ford, located at 4401 Ford Ave., the firms announced this week.
The 435-unit project, which also features 115K SF of office space, is already nearing 50% occupancy for its residential component, the announcement said.
The joint venture acquired the three-building office complex in January 2018, and it converted the two 14-story towers on-site to residential. The project is one of several office-to-residential conversions to advance in Alexandria, taking advantage of what developers see as strong demand for new housing in the Virginia city.
The developers said the leasing pace for Park + Ford was moving quicker than expected for the studio, one-bedroom, one-bedroom plus den, two-bedroom and two-bedroom plus den units.
“We identified growing interest among young professionals, many beginning to couple-up and start families, for an apartment community with more room for working and family along with style and convenience,” Lowe Executive Vice President Mark Rivers said in a statement. “As we began welcoming residents, we found that the pandemic only fueled demand for precisely the environment and residences that we have created at Park + Ford.”
SALES
Network Realty Partners acquired a three-building Fairfax office park from KBS for $23M, the seller announced Tuesday. KBS originally acquired Redwood Plaza I, II and III — located at 10560, 10580 and 10600 Arrowhead Drive — in 2000. KBS said the 207K SF of office space in the park had been recently renovated. JLL’s Jim Meisel, Matt Nicholson, Andrew Weir, Kevin Byrd and Dave Baker brokered the deal.
LEASES
Southern Management Cos. is relocating its office from Vienna to McLean. The real estate firm signed a lease in the Valo Park office building at 7950 Jones Branch Drive, it announced Thursday. A spokesperson told Bisnow the lease is for just under 15K SF.
The two-tower complex recently underwent renovations, which feature a new eatery, childcare center and a 24/7 market. The move for Southern Management comes after it closed a $2.4B refinancing deal for part of its multifamily portfolio two years ago, and CEO Suzanne Hillman said in a statement that the switch to the new office is a sign of the firm’s continued growth.
MILESTONES
Outgoing D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine joined council members Trayon White and Anita Bonds on Thursday at an event to mark the demolition of the Terrace Manor apartment complex at 3301 23rd St. SE. The attorney general previously sued the complex’s owners for “deplorable conditions,” and worked with the tenants association to identify a new developer to redevelop the property, per a press release.
WC Smith was chosen to lead that project, and it is on track to deliver 130 units with affordability set at the 30%, 50% and 60% area median income levels. The replacement project received financing from several sources: D.C.’s Housing Production Trust Fund, tax-exempt bonds, a permanent loan through a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development program, and equity from Sugar Creek Capital and Wells Fargo, the latter of which also provided a construction loan.
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Developer Renaissance Centro celebrated the topping out of its 20-story condo project Monarch in Tysons on Sunday, FFXNow reported. The 86-unit building, located at 7887 Jones Branch Drive, is scheduled to be completed in spring 2023. The condo building, which has already sold over half its units, is part of the Arbor Row development near Tysons Galleria.
PERSONNEL
After more than a decade in the role, Chuck Bean will step down as the executive director of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments next year. Effective Feb. 1, 2023, Bean will “pass the baton” to a new leader and take time off to travel, he told the Washington Business Journal. Bean said he was open to finding a new role in the DMV in the future — during his time at the COG, he helped implement an agenda focused on regionalism and growing the stock of affordable housing, especially near transit.
